Breaking the Wall

Ran on the Provo River Trail by Geneva Road with John Bishoff and Steve Hillam. Did a warm-up, then 4x100 with ankle weights - 18.8 - 19.0 - 18.6 - 16.8. I asked them to run fast enough to drop me on the last one, they did, and I ended up setting an ankle-weights record for a 100.

Then a 10 mile tempo run. John and Steve were helping as much as they could. John made it through the mile in 5:46, which is his official mile record for now. I was doing fine at first - 14:26 at 2.5, the next 2.5 in 14:37. Then around 7 miles I noticed that all of a sudden the same effort is giving me about 5:55-6:00 pace. Not good - dehydration, out of glycogen, lack of sleep, nervous system overload, lack of speedwork, adrenal glands quitting, overtraining, a combination of all of the above or something else? Decided to try to pick up the pace anyway - after quite a bit of grumbling managed a 1:23 quarter, then after a 200 in 43 which felt hard decided perhaps pushing the pace was not wise. Backed off, and coasted. Did not even bother to look at the watch for a while, then when I did, I realized I was going 6:12 pace. I finally talked myself into speeding up to 6:00, and even managed the last quarter in 1:23. So perhaps I possibly overreacted to the slow-down. 29:34 for the last 5 miles, and 58:37 for the whole run.

Took the kids with me to get the oil change/safety/emissions/registiration at Jiffy Lube. While we were there waiting, we ran to the nearby track at Provo High. Benjamin set a 400 meter record of 1:36.2. We then did some more running.

In the evening added another 2 "always on the run" miles. Total of 16 for the day, and 90 for the week.

Also decided to start working out with weights. I have a hunch that testosterone somehow contributes to a good running economy. A masculine muscle works like hard rubber on ground contact, while a feminine is more like cotton. My intuition tells me I could use more hard rubber and less cotton in my muscles. Testosterone, I suppose, is the hormone would make the muscle more like hard rubber. Maximum effort in lifting weights should stimulate its production. So today I did 3 sets of 3 with 85 pounds, and that was about maximum effort.

Sandy Classic did not give Glen any comps, but fortunately Murray Fun Days 5 K did. That means I am going to be having fun in Murray on the 4th of July. It would be interesting to see how I do in a 5 K after three 90+ mile weeks with all the tempo running, and no speedwork.

A short taper before Murray Fun Days. Also the beginning of an easier week. I am realizing 3 weeks of 90+ with daily tempos was perhaps too long - two should have been enough. Or very possibly I did not need it at all - I suspect am already aerobically developed enough for the limit to be somewhere else, and until that mysterious "somewhere else" gets pushed up, additional aerobic development either will not happen, or will not help me run better.

Went to the Provo Canyon to do a tune-up workout. Warm up, then 4x100 with ankle weights. Up 19.7 - down 18.2 - up 18.8 - down 17.5. Then 0.5 up in 2:38 (79 - 79) with a solid headwind. Full recovery, then 0.75 down in 3:38 ( 74 - 71 - 73). Felt very relaxed in the first 1000, but then holding the pace became significantly harder. Full recovery ( 400 meter jog), then 2x100 with 300 jog rest down both in 14.6. Felt unusual explosive strength, but could not quite translate it into speed.

Ran with the kids aftewards, and jogged a bit in the evening with Benjamin running, and Jennifer and Joseph in the stroller.

Intersting - my tempo mileage experiment did not seem to affect the speed, but so far I've seen a drop in the strength endurance. Interestingly enough, my friend Albert Wint has had similar results. I also did run into the same problem back in 2002 - I could go fast and it felt easy for a while, but then all of a sudden I could not hold the pace.

Murray Fun Days 5 K. 16:39, 3rd place after my teammates Corbin Talley (16:22) and Mike Nieslen (15:36). In the absense of a number of fast runners, we pulled off a 1-2-3 for the Wasatch Running Center, which made Glen (the store owner) very happy. The course is not the fastest by any means - 1% grade up for about 1.1 miles, then 180 turn, and the same grade down on the way back. From there somewhat of a rolling hills around the Murray City Park to the finish.

The start was rather abnormal. Corbin pulled off a manuever I considered doing myself but thought would be logistically impossible - two races in the same day, finishing 3rd in Sandy Classic 10 K 15 minutes earlier with 33:56. I did not ask him how fast he had to drive, but in my earlier discussions with other runners the consensus was you had to be on a police motorcycle to make it.

So with another race under his belt already Corbin was not anxious to push the pace. Mike was not in a hurry to do so either. At first we were moving so slow that I considered taking the initiative to push the pace, but feeling a bit of a headwind made me change my mind. About 0.7 into the race Mike finally started going, and I tried to go with him. He dropped me fairly quickly hitting the mile in 5:09. I got 5:16, and was very happy with it, especially considering the grade and the fact it did not feel too hard. I though the second mile would be easily 5:10 going downhill. It was not - only 5:20. By that time Corbin had started to recover from his earlier race and caught me. I tried to hang on, and made it to a little bit past the 2 mile mark. After that, I was just praying I would not get passed (with the prize money cut-off being top 3), and trying my hardest to discourage the possible predators. Fortunately, the venomous predators were not around, and I managed to stay in 3rd place. Third mile was 5:30, and the kick was 33 seconds. It was actually 32, but USATF rules say you always need to round off the finish time up to the nearest second, so 16:38.01 rounds off to 16:39. On the last mile, as usual, I felt I could go a while at that pace, but lacked the juice to go even 5 seconds per mile faster.

I ran 15 seconds slower than I did last year, but I knew I should not expect much after my three-week mileage/tempo experiment. Losing only 15 seconds in a 5 K immediately after the hard and possibly unwise training is probably not that bad. Especially if you get $50 and good circuit points for it. So in spite of a slow time, I am very happy with this race.

In the evening ran with the kids, and worked out with weights (bench-press). One set of 6 with 85, then another set of 6 with 90, and then a set of 3 with 100. On the last repetition I barely was able to get the barbell on the stand. This is a sigficant improvement from Saturday. Could your muscles possibly get stronger after one workout? Or possibly the fatigue of running and the general stress of life was higher on Saturday that tonight?

Ran very easy in the morning with George and Eric. Need to recover from the hard training in the past three weeks. We jogged about 8.5 miles on the trails.

Afterwards, put on ankle weights and did sprints with George.

Did some more running with the kids, and some jogging in the afternoon/evening to make the total 13 miles.

Amazing what competition does to me in a sprint. I managed 16.8 - 16.3 - 16.4 - 16.3, setting a new record for an ankle-weighted 100 m. My regular 100 m PR is 13.9. George also set a PR for 100 m - 15.7.

For some reason, having competition in a 5 K does not do the same thing to me. I might feel some extra competitive fury in the first mile, and then I am feeling very mellow. However, in 2004 was able to do something to stir it up in one race - Draper Days. This year, I suppose I has some semblance of it in Magna, but not as furious as Draper Days of 2004.

I think it was also there in the Top of Utah in 2003. It became particularly evident when Paul did a bit of a photo editing to get me into the picture of our WBR team, and used the face from the TOU 2003 finish. I remember feeling very aggressive in the early miles, then mellowing out a bit later on, but still being a lot more aggressive mentally and emotionally than I normally am in a marathon.

For the first time in a long time, my quads were sore. So I decided to run easy today. Ran with John Bishoff and George on the trails. Came home, ran with the kids. Light sprints with Benjamin with ankle weights - 200 in 41.4, then 2x100 19.7 and 18.2. The last one was with his old friend Bitner - Benjamin actually ran 19.6. Did some more running during the day to make the total 13.

Also worked out with weights. Did 2 sets of 3 with 100. On the third one, could only do 2. I do not think I was feeling as strong as on Tuesday, and overall I was feeling somewhat tired when I started the weight workout. I did not get a knap today. I suppose explosive strength is very sensitive to the lack of sleep and overall fatigue.

My quads were still sore from the sprints on Wednesday. Wow! This is something. I can run a marathon downhill, and they do not get that sore. But sprint a bit all-out with ankle weights, and they start hurting. I suppose the magic is in the all-out.

So I decided to take it easy today. Ran a couple of loops with Eric. Then found Steve Hillam on the road and ran some with him. Stopped for a "biobreak", then caught him running a mile in 5:44. Felt something in the quads - they were stiff. Then we found another runner on the road - Jeff Wright, and ran with him. He used to be a sprinter/middle distance runner - 400 m in 47, 800 in 1:51. And he was going fast - about 6:10-6:30.

Ran with the kids, jogged some more in the evening, total of 13 miles.

Went to the Provo Canyon for the long run. Strategically parked at Nunns. Warmed up a mile to the start of Sharpen The Saw 10 K - too bad that race has been discontinued, but it is still in the certification database.

Ran 5 miles down to what I thought was the 5 mile mark (first lightpole after the old power plant at the mouth of the Provo Canyon) in 28:32. Then up in 32:14 - the wind was pretty stiff. Then back down in 28:07 - total time of 1:28:53. I think I got the 5 mile wrong. My intermediate splits suggest my times should have been about 20 seconds faster for each 5 mile segment.

Went afterwards for a bike ride with Benjamin on the course, and measured it with the Jones counter. Sure enough, my intuition was right. The distance was 5.14 miles - due to the lack of time calibrated the counter on the first mile which was still marked after all the years, and matched the description in the certification document quite well. So I'll call it 5.1 to be safe just in case.

I also checked the elevation drop with gmap-pedometer.com - it is about 350 feet, so 70 feet per mile, a bout 1.3% grade for the 5 mile stretch. Stopped at the car (about 11.5 miles) to get Powerade.

Cooled down to get back to the car. Found a runner on the road to join me for the cooldown - John Fee, teaches law at BYU. He was just starting his 15 mile run.

Legs felt stiff at the start, but did not get any worse at the finish. All the way though the tempo I felt like I could keep the pace forever, but I would be very uncomfortable if I tried to go any faster.

In the afternoon, ran with the kids. Benjamin wanted to run a mile time trial, and set a new record of 7:12 with the splits of 1:47 - 1:50 - 1:49 - 1:46.

Worked out with weights in the evening. Benchpress - 3 sets of 3 with 95 pounds.

Went to the Provo Canyon for speedwork. Warm up. Strides with ankle weights (4x100) up 20.0 down 18.6 up 19.3 down 17.8. Then 12x400 down with 200 recovery. Total time 13:52.1 average of 69.3. Slowest 70.6 ( 1/3 uphill), fastest 67.9 (last). Last 200 about 32.7.

Tried to run more or less relaxed, go fast, but not be extremely anaerobic.

Saw Ed Eyestone running on the trail. Did not get to talk to him, though, as our paths did not quite overlap. He looked like he was going quite fast, but also it looked like he had to work. I suppose he is trying to get back in shape.

Ran with the kids in the evening. Played a game with Julia after Benjamin and Jennifer's run - Julia ran a quarter in 3:03, and then we were chasing the imaginary 8:00/mile guy for the remaining 1.25 miles as she and Joseph sat in the stroller. Without a stroller, it is no big deal to close a minute or so on 8:00 pace in a mile, but the extra weight made it an interesting challenge. We passed him with 0.2 miles to go, and beat him by 19 seconds. I was able to stay relaxed enough to where this did not feel like a tempo, though.

Had a lot of training partners in the morning. That is very nice. First, Stuart came to do a time trial on the Slate Canyon Loop. He ran it in 14:10 improving his time by 31 seconds. His 7 miles a day is starting to pay off. Did his cooldown. Then ran with Benjamin, and Jennifer. Merrill and his son Noah (they are visiting from Las Vegas), joined us. Afterwards, sprints with ankle weights. Did 3 with Benjamin and Noah in about 19 seconds each. Then raced against Merrill and Steve Hillam. They were a lot faster but did not get their time. I got 16.5 with ankle weights. Then I took them off. They were still a lot faster - 13.3 vs 14.8 for me.

Jogged some more with Steve. In the evening ran with Julia, and jogged some more with Joseph in the stroller. Total of 13 miles for the day.

In the evening lifted weights. 1 set of 3 with 95, then 2 sets of 3 with 100.

Ran with Steve Hillam and George. I felt sleepy. We started out at 10:00 pace, and I was perfectly happy at first. The pace got faster, but not by much. After we were done with the trails, Steve and I ran the Slate Canyon Loop (2.11) in 13:53. I challenged him to break 14:00. He hit the last 400 in 1:23 and made it. Benjamin happened to be around walking with Sarah at the quarter mark, and decided to join us. He made it through the first 100 meters of Steve's kick, and finished the quarter in 1:41.

Afterwards, Benjamin convinced Jennifer to run the Slate Canyon Loop and we paced her to a sub-20 - 19:40 with the last mile in 8:53. She handled the hill very well.

Ran with Joseph in the stroller for a mile in the evening. Felt sleepy and lazy. Even thought about walking instead, but then the thought of having to walk for the whole mile made me want to run it - when I feel lazy I always follow the path of the least resistance.

Ran with Steve Hillam and Steve Ashbaker in the Provo Canyon this morning. Started at the Canyon View Park. Warmed up to the Nunns Park. Then Steve Ashbaker and I ran our standard 3 mile tempo downhill to the mouth of the canyon. The plan was to trade leads every two minutes for the first two miles at a brisk tempo pace, and then try to run each other into the ground on the last. The first mile was 5:12, the second 5:08. Then we duked it out on the last, hitting it in 4:55 with the last quarter in 69. Our overall time was 15:15, which is a record for me by 8 seconds, and for Steve by 10 seconds.

Then we jogged some, and did 5x400 downhill with 200 jog recovery. 70.6 - 67.3 - 70.7 - 68.0 - 65.9 (last 100 in 15.3). Steve was a bit faster on the last one - 64.3. Total of 11 miles for the workout.

In the evening ran with the kids in the Provo Canyon. Also lifted weights. 3 sets of 3 with 100 pounds. Total of 13.8 miles for the day.

No training partners today. Patrolled the neighborhood the entire run trying to spy some out - did not see any guys. Ran a tempo mile in 5:46 to keep myself from being bored after I stopped feeling lazy. When I stop feeling lazy and start feeling bored (about 4-6 miles into the run), and there are no training partners around to chat with, this is trouble for recovery/taper runs.

Finished the run, then did 4x100 with ankle weights - 19.1 - ? - 18.9 - 17.8. Then ran with the kids.

In the evening, ran an always on the run mile alone without Joseph in the stroller - he was playing and Sarah did not want him disturbed. Decided to time it. Felt extremely lazy as usual on the first 100 meters - 34 seconds, 9:00 pace. If somebody told me at that time I could race a marathon at 5:40 pace, I would not have believed them. However, plodding along I started to wake up. Made it to the turnaround in 3:52. Then at 1000 m mark (4:46) I realized that Benjamin was going to ask me how fast I ran. I wanted to be able to tell him that I broke his record (7:12). I was 16 seconds behind, but I still had 600 meters to go, and I am a big daddy. So this looked like not too much trouble, so I went for it. I figured I needed to run a little faster than 6:40 to make it. Then with 200 to go, I saw that if I ran the last 200 in 40 it would be 7:00, so I speed up for a round number and hit it right on - 7:00.

Ran in the morning in the Provo Canyon. Did a 5 mile tempo at marathon pace - 2.5 down from Canyon Glen Park to the mouth of the canyon, and back. Felt lazy on the first half. First mile 5:37, the next one 5:33. The next half in 2:47 - 13:57 at the turnaround. Next quarter was 1:32, and it ended up being the only quarter slower than 1:30 for the rest of the run, but I did not think it would be, as the wind gusts sometimes were pretty strong. I did the next 0.5 in 3:00, and the last two mile splits were 5:54 and 5:53. Total time 28:44.

An interesting change. The head wind and the hills bothered me a lot less than they used to. I was maintaining a steady pace and did not feel like backing off when the head wind got stronger or the grade got steeper. There was an interesting feeling in the legs. I would not say they necessarily had more power, but more strength endurance.

Did a bench press in the afternoon - 3 set of 3 with 90 pounds, but this time I used a narrow grip which makes it harder for me.

Took the kids to the Provo Canyon and ran with them there in the evening. Total of 13 miles for the day.

Ran in the Provo Canyon in the morning. Measured wind strength by running a 1:28 quarter uphill during the warmup. Then ran the 3 mile tempo from Nunns Park to the mouth of the canyon with an aggressive marathon pace effort. First mile 5:37 (asleep), then woke up and ran two 5:23 miles - total time 16:23. Still felt lazy, but 5:23 pace felt very good, although it did require some concentration.

Then jogged back to the Canyon Glen Park, and did 5x400 with 200 rest downhill. 69.6 - 70.3 - 70.5 - 70.0 - 69.2 (last 100 16.6). Felt lazy. Watched my splits like a hawk, and only sped up if it looked like it was going to be over 70. It seemed like there was some barrier at around 71 second pace that made me feel so comfortable when running slower that I had to push myself to cross it.

Sarah went into labor in the afternoon, and for a while we thought the baby was coming. However, her contractions stopped after 6 hours. Good for us - we got good sleep. Hopefully, we can get them going again this afternoon (Tuesday) and get the baby out.

Ran with the kids in the evening. Total of 12 miles for the day. Starting to taper for Draper Days/Desnews marathon combo.

Ran with Danny Moody in the morning. We spoke Russian all the time. Did a tempo mile with net uphill near my house in 5:38. However, on the flat the pace was 5:30.

Did sprints with ankle weights - 4x100 ? - 17.3 - 17.6 - 17.7 - did not want to go fast, but seeing Danny ahead of me got me going.

Then ran with the kids - Danny and Steve Hillam joined us.

Bench press in the afternoon (narrow grip) - two sets of three with 95, then a set of two ( could not do third).

No baby yet.

Easy run with Danny and Steve. Did a tempo mile in 5:37 this time without the uphill. Did 4x100 with ankle weights in around 18-19 seconds.

Ran with the kids. Went a on a walk with Sarah trying to get the baby out.

Then in the afternoon took a walk with Sarah in the Provo Canyon. She ran 100 meters in 35.2 - the fastest I've ever seen a pregnant woman dilated to a 6 go. She really impressed me. But still that did not put her into active labor like we hoped.

Ran with Steve Hillam in the morning. Major taper for the marathon/Draper Days. Ran 0.5 in 2:30.6 to practice 5 K race pace. Then ran with the kids. Benjamin set a record on 0.5 - 3:26.6. What impressed me was his furious kick - last 200 in 47, and last 100 in 22.

Jogged 0.5 in the evening with Joseph in the stroller. No baby yet.

Sarah woke up shortly before 2:00 am, and had strong contractions. We called the midwife, shipped the kids off to a neighbor's house, and got ready for the baby. Jacob Alexander Pachev was born at 3:56 am at our house, weighing 9 pounds and 5 ounces, and 21 inches in height. We believe it is a record in weight for the 22 grandchildren of Sarah's parents. It is also the first time she went into labor in the middle of the night. And she ran a record 100 meter sprint within 36 hours of delivery while trying to go into labor - 35.2.

She very impressed me when she said "I love you" in the middle of a hard contraction. She has never said anything unfriendly before during labor in the past, but I do not remember ever hearing "I love you" in the middle of a contraction. Having children definitely has had a refining influence on her.

Interestingly enough, the pushing stage lasted about 16 minutes - about the time it takes me to run a 5 K, which is something I get to do tomorrow. I consider the 5 K to be the most painful race when I am in shape.

After things had settled down, I put up "It's a boy" sign that has already been prepared, finished my scripture study (interestingly enough, read the last 2 chapters of Jacob in the Book of Mormon), and got ready for my run.

Still tapering, so only 4 miles + the kids run. Ran with Steve Hillam and Danny Moody. We did a 0.5 in 2:27.3. Danny helped with the pace quite a bit, and I really appreciated it, because otherwise I would have been falling asleep. Still, this is nothing compared to the sleepiness on the last leg of the Wasatch Back Relay.

Then later in the morning took a nap, and then ran with the kids. Our neighbor Abby joined us, and did pretty well - we went her pace, and ran the mile in 9:33.

Draper Days 5 K, 16:00, 6th place. 23:52, new PR by 1:13, and 96th overall, 4th in 11 and under for Benjamin.

Got up at 5:00 am, took Benjamin with me, and we went to run the Draper Days 5 K. It was hot - about 80 degrees at the start. I felt lazy during the warmup, and did not even feel like striding very much.

Saw Joe Wilson and Dennis Simonaitis in the warmup, and developed a race plan - hang in with them for as long as I can. We hit the first mile (downhill) in 4:45. Joe Bendoski was ahead by about 10 seconds or so, we had Leon Gallegos and Danny Moody with us, and a thick pack within 5 second behind us.

When I saw the split, I knew today would not be a run for time. 4:45 sounds fast, but it is slow for that particular mile. I ran it in 4:33 when I set my PR of 15:37, and I was right there with my competition, not way ahead. That is just the way this course goes: 2% grade down on the first mile, then you gradually roll up for the rest of the race to average a 0.4% drop.

Joe and Dennis kept pushing the pace. I managed to make it to 7:00 into the race, and then I had to let go. I could stay with them fine on the downhill, but as soon as it flattened out it did not take them long to do me in. However, they pulled me a way a bit from a pack of wild beasts, and I really could use that safety buffer.

10:05 (5:20) at mile two. Not bad for the uphill. 9:38 for Joe Bendoski, 9:50 for Dennis and the other Joe. Way too many fast Joes in this race!

At the turn after mile 2 (11:37 into the race), still 4th. However, with Neal Gassman and Tim Stringfellow behind me, this is not a safe position. I made a decision to hang in there with however catches me for as long as I can. At 13:10 into the race Neal finally catches me. I was able to shift gears and go with him. Set a goal for myself to make it to at least 14:00. Made it to 14:05. Now hopefully that would discourage the pursuers. Neal is exceptionally strong on the last mile. Pretty much the only way he can be beaten is if you never see him. So running with him for a minute pulls you away enough to discourage most of the pursuers. Most but not Tim Stringfellow. Being very well aware of that, I try my best to do some semblance of a kick. Too hot, and I am feeling just plain lazy. Almost made it. Tim sprinted past me with a few yards to go. That booted me out of money, but I still got a decent time - 16:00.

Joe Bendoski won with 15:10, then Dennis 15:22, Joe Wilson 15:33, Neal 15:49, and Tim 15:59.

16:36 after the start of the race having finished all the tear-off tag stuff I am headed back to find Benjamin. Met him at 20:37. He ran strong, and finished in 23:52, which is a huge PR. He finally earned his USB cameray. I am very excited for him. Too bad he still has to race 11 year olds, and we have some fast ones around here. This got him 4th in his age division, and booted him out of the awards. So both of us today ran a good time, but got booted out of something.

Did bench press in the evening - 3 sets of 3 with 95 pounds (narrow grip). That felt better than Thursday. Also ran with Jenny and Julia. Benjamin joined us. Deseret News Marathon on Monday.

Deseret News Marathon. 2:31:47, third overall, first Utahn.

My goal was to make top three, and to win the first Utahn prize. At the start, we had Simon Sawe, John Ndambuki, and Jared Nyambuki of the Kenyans, and Steve Ashbaker and Corbin Tally of the locals. So I had to find a way to get rid of one Kenyan, and not get punished by a local for it. A challenging task.

I noticed the Kenyans were a little slow at the start, and decided to take advantage of it. I signaled to Steve, and we went off trading leads. 5:04 for the first mile. At about 1.5 Steve had to stop to fix the rock in the shoe problem. So now I was on my own. However, Jared Nyambuki took the bate and followed us. 9:47 at two miles (4:47), then 14:28 (4:41) at three, and 19:27 at 4 (4:59). The pace is actually not as fast as it sounds - this is a 7% grade.

Then it flattened out. 24:57 at 5 (5:30), next mile uphill 30:43 (5:46). Nyambuki started pulling away, which was just fine with me. Now we are climbing the Little Mountain. Next mile in 6:29. Sawe and Ndambuki passed me, and they looked like they were racing already.

Next mile was half up and half down - 5:59, then down in 5:19. Felt so good I thought it was only 5:30. So far so good. Now a little loop to Pinecrest. This gives me a chance to check what is going on. Nyambuki about 1:20 ahead, Sawe and Ndambuki about 45 seconds ahead, Steve about 2 minutes behind, Corbin about 3 minutes behind.

10 miles in 54:16, half in 1:11:30, and still running relaxed. However, somewhere around 14 legs started feeling a bit cramped, and I slowed down to 5:35 pace. We are still going down the Emmigration Canyon, so 5:35 is not a fast pace, although not too bad. 15 miles in 1:22:26. Then things started getting worse, and I could not quite understand why at first. It was not the fuel, my usual issue, it was the legs, something that usually holds up quite well. From then on, I managed to do 6:00 pace on downhill miles, and slowed down to 6:20-6:30 on the ones with uphill. Around 18 the right hamstring cramped up, but then it felt better. Then I saw Nyambuki on the side of the road, and it looks that he is so cramped up that he cannot even walk. Ok, that puts me in 3rd. Now I need to hold off Corbin and Steve. As slow as I am going, they could come up to me very fast. 20 miles in 1:52:38. Next mile in 6:33 (up), but the one after that in 5:50 down. Now just try to hang in there, and fight the negative thoughts. The subsequent miles were somewhere in the 6:10-6:20 range. Almost missed a turn. Finally, the finish. Yes, I made it!

2:23:15 for Sawe, 2:26:39 for Ndambuki. Finally Corbin comes in 2:40:18 and they carry him to the medical tent. Then Steve comes in 2:47:36, and he is even worse off - two people carry him to medical tent. I guess I did not realize how hot it got once we came out of the canyon. That explains the cramps, the slowdown, and not getting passed through all of this. So I guess given the conditions I was not running that slow after all. A repetition of the lesson I've learned a while ago - never get depressed about slow mile splits, but fight out the battle instead - you might actually be doing quite well for the conditions.

The legs were extremely sore afterwards. Could barely walk.

Ran with the kids in the evening. Had to lean on the stroller to make it.

Ran two miles in the morning in 18:58. Legs are sore just about everywhere - quads, calfs, hamstrings, even the dorsi-flexors. I wish I had taken the stroller with me to lean on.

I suppose the balanced soreness is a good thing, though. It means I can use another muscle group as a backup when the primary one fails.

In the evening decided to let my legs get some rest, and took the kids to the track so I could watch them run.

Also, did bench press with a narrow grip, 3 sets of 3 with 95 pounds.

Legs still exceptionally sore. So I had to answer a lot of questions on my temple shift this morning. To my surprise, a lot more people than I thought were completely unfamiliar with the post-marathon walking syndrome. Even I began to take my quick recoveries for granted. However, this marathon has always been past my quick bounce back threshold, and this year was tougher than others due to the heat at the end.

Waited until the end of the day to run in hopes my legs would be somewhat normal. Had to lean on the stroller to make in manageable, and ran with the kids. Benjamin gave me a workout hitting the last quarter of his fast 0.5 in 1:38, but I survived.

I could probably go more than 2 miles with a heroic effort, but I'll wait another couple of days - I can afford to rest a bit. After that, the preservation of fitness would become an issue, and the heroic effort would be worth it. Also, the muscle recovery is happening already at a decent rate, so the effort would have to be less heroic.

Legs still very sore, but better than Wednesday. Did some always on the run jogging during the day to test the waters. In the evening ran with the kids, and then jogged additional 2 miles in 15:48. Also did bench press (narrow grip), one set of 3 with 95, then 2 sets of 3 with 100 pounds.

I am finally able to run without feeling extreme pain in every step. However it still hurts.

Ran 8 miles with George on trails this morning. Then ran with the kids. Jogged a mile in the evening. Less pain than in the morning, the acute soreness essentially gone.

Running was not painful today for the first time since the marathon. Decided to not waste any time and ease into normal training. Figured 5 miles at marathon pace would be a good start, and will show me how the recovery is going.

Did it on the Provo River Trail between the Geneva road and the Utah Lake. 2.5 out, 2.5 back. 5:50 - 5:50 - 5:52 - 5:46 - 5:39 - total time 28:57, 14:35 out, 14:22 back. Legs felt weak, but I was able to partially compensate it with an artificilly increased leg turnover on the second half once I remembered the trick.

Back in 2004, I did 110 miles the week that would correspond to the next one. In the beginning of the week, I was having a similar problem with weak legs during a tempo run while still recovering from the marathon. But a weak later, the problem was largely gone. So I was able to continue to recover through the high mileage. With that experience in mind, the plan for next week is to resume normal training. However, 90 should be enough mileage.

Now I am eyeing four goals - win the Utah circuit, win the Top of Utah, win St. George, and qualify for the Trials in St. George. I believe the last two have to go together - it will not be possible to win St. George without qualifying this year.

Steven R. Covey says think win-win. I am not sure if he will necessarily agree with my application of that principle, but I like to give it a different twist - win two marathons two weeks apart. Mike Kirk will certainly have something to say about my ambitions with his legs in St. George. At least he did back in 2004. It is going to be fun.

Ran on the Provo River Trail between the Geneva Road and the Utah Lake. Met a new friend - Corey Osborne during warm-up. Then did the same 5 mile tempo as Saturday. The purpose was to build fitness while measuring recovery from the marathon. Got 28:32.7, mile splits - 5:31 - 5:42 - 5:49 - 5:48 - 5:43. Out 14:07, back 14:25. First mile felt very easy, and I thought that I'd be able to keep that pace all the way, and maybe even speed up a bit at the end. My legs felt strong. Then on the second mile they began to lose power, and got essentially back strengh-wise to where they were Saturday. I have observed this phenomenon before. Shortly after one punishing marathon or a set of two or more marathons done back to back, the legs feel normal for a little over a mile, and then all of a sudden just quit. You suddenly slow down about 20 seconds per mile, and then it does not get any worse. Well, at least I was able to do a good mile, something that did not happen Saturday, and the overall time was faster, so the recovery is slowly taking place. Ran with the kids, and jogged some more in the evening to make the total 15 miles. However, I think this drastic slow down sheds some light on my slow downs in 5Ks. I believe the limiting factor is of the same nature, it just happens at a slower pace when the muscles are still partially torn up from the marathon. Interestingly enough, Dallen seems to experience a similar problem.